Where to put an old plastic window. Where to donate broken glass

Currently, the issue of glass recycling is gaining increasing popularity. Unfortunately, most glass products end up in landfills or are completely thrown out on the street, where they adversely affect both human health and condition. environment. It does not decompose for many years, accumulates in huge quantities and threatens to completely litter our planet. You can properly dispose of used glass and avoid such problems through recycling.

Benefits of Recycling

It is necessary to recycle and reuse glass for the following reasons:

It doesn't decompose. A typical glass drink bottle will take more than 1,000 years to decompose. Without recycling, our planet will turn into a large glass dump;
Glass products break easily. Broken glass released into the environment can injure both animals and people;
Glass in the soil makes it difficult for plants to grow;
Reusing recycled glass saves money Natural resources, as well as electricity;
Financial benefit. By handing over glass to collection points for recycling, you receive monetary reward;
The volume of harmful emissions is reduced. When using recycled materials to produce new products, fewer harmful substances are released.

Video about how glass bottles are produced

What is glass

Glass is a solid transparent or colored material.

It is made from pure quartz sand, lime and soda. Various additives can be used to change the properties of the material, however, the main component is sand.

Physical properties

Like any other material, glass has characteristic properties:

Density;
Fragility;
Heat resistance.

Kinds

Exist Various types glasses that differ from each other in appearance and properties:

Crystal. It is obtained by adding lead to the composition;
Quartz. It consists of pure sand, making it highly durable. Able to withstand significant temperature changes;
Foam glass. Lightweight building material that can be used both for finishing and for laying walls and floors;
Glass wool. A voluminous airy material consisting of thin and very strong threads.

Speed of crack movement broken glass is 4828 km/h.

Scope of application

Glass is a fairly popular material for various types of human activity. This material can be used for almost any application. The main area of use is construction. More than half of it is used in construction.
The purpose can be very diverse:

Wall covering;
Window glazing;
Construction of walls from hollow bricks;
Thermal insulation.

Another popular destination Applications of glass - glass vessels for various purposes and tableware.

It should be noted that in chemical industry glass is an indispensable material because it is resistant to most reagents.

Possessing many useful qualities, it is ideal for recycling and does not lose its properties.

Glass as a type of recyclable material

Types of Recycled Glass

According to GOST there are the following types cullet:

BL – Colorless leaf;
PSL – Semi-white sheet;
PST – Semi-white container;
KT – Brown container;
KL – Brown leaf;
ZS – Green glass cullet.

In addition, glass secondary products are divided into the following categories:

Whole container. This includes any whole glass bottles or jars;
Sorted fight. This group includes broken container, aquarium or window glass, sorted by color;
Miscellaneous waste. Mixed broken glass different color;
Scrap of special glass. Includes broken optical glass or other glass for specialized purposes: broken lamps, cathode ray tubes, etc.;
Erklez. Lumpy multi-colored glass, decorative inserts in stained glass windows, as well as rocky and block glass, which is used in interior design.

Through recycling we willseeless such garbage in the city and in nature

Glass recycling is necessary, first of all, to protect our environment, to save natural resources, as well as to produce new products and materials.

Glass containers

Glass containers usually mean various containers made of glass that are designed to store:

Drinks;
Food;
Perfumes;
Household chemicals;
Medicines;
Chemical substances.

Distinctive features of glass containers:

Possibility of giving any shape;
Long-term storage of products;
Reusable;
Recyclable.

Cullet

Cullet is broken glass products (bottles, window glass, jars, etc.). The most common sources of cullet are:

●glass containers;

●window glass;

●interior items (mirrors, lamp shades);

●dishes.

Who accepts glass containers and cullet for recycling?

Usually this special items receptions, which are now located in most cities of Russia. Such points mainly organize individual entrepreneurs, since it is profitable for them to sell this type of recyclable material to glass factories. Also, containers and waste are accepted by the enterprises involved in the processing and production of glass products.

About 150,000 tons of glass waste are generated in Russia every year.

Glass can only be properly disposed of at a collection point.

Where to look for a glass collection point

To find a collection point, you can use search engine our website:

To view collection points in your city, click the "Select recyclables and city" button located on the right and select your city. You will be able to familiarize yourself with prices, addresses and telephone numbers, and based on this, choose the acceptance that suits you best. It should be noted that preference should be given to those points where the price is the highest, since it is possible that you will have to go there again, especially if you plan to make this your additional income.

What you can and cannot submit

Most often, the following types of secondary waste are delivered to collection points:

Beer and vodka bottles;
Bottles for drinks, wine, champagne;
Cans with a capacity of 0.5 l, 1 l, 1.5 l 3 l;
Jars for baby food;
Old glassware.

And while almost all glass products can be recycled, some types cannot be reused. These include:

Mirrors;
Triplex (multilayer);
Products using reinforcing mesh and refractory raw materials;
Tempered glass;
Broken glass with foreign objects (stones, coal, iron, ceramics);

In addition, make sure that your recyclables are dry. Wet glass containers and broken glass are also not accepted.

Rules for accepting glass containers and cullet

The main reasons to hand over glass

Citizens, in addition to caring about the environment, have other reasons:

Financial benefit. You will receive a profit for unnecessary glass at the collection point;
Lack of storage space. Unnecessary cans and bottles can accumulate in large quantities around the house. If you are sure that such glass products will no longer be useful to you, it is wiser to recycle them;

How to prepare glass for delivery

Before taking it to the collection point, you need to sort it. If you hand over both glass containers and broken glass, separate them from each other. Glass bottles separate by color into brown, white and green. If there is dirt, rinse the glassware and then dry thoroughly.

It should be noted that there is a state standard for broken glass, according to which this raw material is divided into two grades:

Grade I – clean waste without foreign impurities, the size of which is 10 – 50 mm;
Grade II - cullet of irregular size, in which a slight content of foreign organic impurities, clay and sand is allowed.

However, if foreign elements (metal, wood, etc.) are found in the cullet, it is better to remove them.

When the recyclables are sorted and free of debris and moisture, you can take them to a collection point, where employees will be able to evaluate the glass and pay you money.

Solid cans with a capacity of 1 liter and 3 liters are very popular at collection points.

It should be noted that Special attention The receiver pays attention to the neck of the glass container: the presence of even minor chips automatically sends the container to the second category. And this, in turn, leads to a decrease in profit margins.

Cost of glass waste

Glass containers and cullet are purchased by many companies for further use as secondary raw materials. Prices in our country for glass are low and vary depending on the city. So, for 1 bottle you can get from 10 kopecks to 2 rubles.

The price is formed from the following factors:

Type and type of glass;
Degree of dirt removal;
No foreign inclusions;
The degree of mixing of different types of glass by color;
Presence of moisture.

Glass processing: stages and technologies

The processing process at different enterprises may differ, but in general it involves the following stages:

Careful sorting by color and type;
Cleaning from dirt and foreign elements;
Drying;
Grinding into small pieces or powder;
Adding (if necessary) various fillers, additives, blowing agents;
Loading prepared raw materials into special forms;
Heating in ovens and giving the required shape.

Video about how to grind recycled glass

The quality of new products produced by glass recycling is not inferior in quality to a product made from 100% fresh raw material components.

Other uses of glass waste

An alternative type of recycling of glass waste is to reinforce concrete with it. There are two types of concrete products where cullet is used:

Glass concrete. This material is used in industrial production and is highly resistant to acid solutions;
Glass-filled concrete. In this case, glass waste acts as a substitute for more expensive material in concrete. Both partial and complete replacement of the main filler is allowed;
Foam glass. The material is used both in the domestic sector and for industrial production.

Bottles are crushed for further processing

Custom glass is an indispensable material in the production of tableware, building materials, furniture and interior items. However, glass has one big drawback - it is very fragile and crumbles easily. Large and small fragments have sharp edges that are easy to cut on. Once inside the human body, glass shards can cause bleeding, and glass dust that settles in the lungs remains there forever and leads to serious illnesses. Due to the great danger to human health, the disposal of glass fragments has certain difficulties.

Glass practically does not decompose in natural natural conditions, since the main component in its manufacture is sand.

What can be done with broken glass, and how to properly dispose or recycle it without causing damage to the environment?

If the volume of broken glass is small and you have creative potential, you can use the shards to decorate the interior. Flat glass shards are suitable for making stained glass. To paint them, you can use stained glass paints or colored adhesive film. You can make a mosaic from small fragments and decorate a vase or flower pot with them. At the same time, you must not forget about observing safety precautions when working with glass.

The use of broken glass to decorate the garden in the form of mosaic borders is not recommended, as the glass can crumble out of the binder over time and fall into the ground. Some also advise burying glass shards around the perimeter garden plot or use as a filler when building the foundation of a house, as it is effective way fight against moles and rats. But these methods of using broken glass also pose a serious potential threat to humans.

The best way to use broken glass in construction is to crush it and add it to cement mortar. Glass fragments for grinding can be loaded into a concrete mixer by adding water, sand and gravel. This method of processing cullet makes it possible to produce small glass chips with rounded edges, which will serve as excellent thermal insulation during the construction of the foundation, and will also increase the strength of concrete. Treated glass chips can be an alternative to sand and gravel.

The same method of processing broken glass in a concrete mixer is also suitable for obtaining so-called sea glass. IN natural form this glass is found on sea coasts. It has good decorative properties and smooth edges over the entire surface. This allows sea glass to be widely used for making jewelry and mosaics of any type.

If the volumes of cullet are large (usually during construction and in the production of window structures), then it is best to hand over the glass fragments to cullet resellers. Companies that buy broken glass then resell it at glass factories.

Custom glass can be 100% recycled, saving natural resources. Recycled glass can replace up to 95% of raw materials in the glass industry. Each ton of recycled glass saves slightly less than a ton of natural materials used in its manufacture. Energy costs in the production of glass raw materials are reduced by 2–3% for every 10% of cullet in the material recipe. At the same time, recycled glass is a much cheaper raw material than natural components. Thus, glass recycling is a very environmentally friendly process.

Another option for using broken glass in large quantities is to make glass tiles. Glass shards are crushed in a crusher, mixed with dyes and polyester resin, then poured into special molds of various sizes and textures. When pouring glass, a vacuum is created to eliminate air bubbles in the finished tile. The resulting tiles can be used to decorate kitchens, bathrooms and even the exterior facades of houses. This glass tile manufacturing technology is good idea for small and medium-sized businesses, since the costs of raw materials and equipment are low, and the cost of its imported analogues is quite high.

If you apply creative potential every person, then broken glass is an indispensable material in all kinds of folk art products, ranging from building materials, where broken glass can be added to concrete for greater strength, they can also be added to all kinds of panels, cinder concrete, and can also be used in the decorative design of facades , with all kinds of decorative and applied products, because broken glass powder in combination with glue or various varnishes with the addition of color can be a good stained glass material, and if you also heat it up, you will get all kinds of lamps interspersed with glass and plastic.

Also, custom-made broken glass can be used to develop a person’s psychophysiological capabilities, for example, small broken glass can be consumed to train barefoot walking. You can also use them in garden beds to prevent grass from growing and filling up the area.

Conclusion: broken glass is by and large sand, from which this glass is made, so where sand is used, broken glass can be used.

In contact with

Household and industrial waste are not recycled. Broken glass is one of these types of waste; moreover, it is actually perpetual waste. The glass will remain where we left it, without breaking down for hundreds of years. If we were talking only about household glass waste, the problem would be less global, but there are also industrial waste the same type. A fifth of all garbage in landfills is... That is why researchers are actively working on possibilities for glass recycling.

One of the leading directions recyclable broken glass is a building mixture. The glass is crushed and then added to concrete mixtures. Concrete with such a filling acquires new physical and mechanical properties, allowing it to withstand critical loads and exposure to aggressive environments. Another advantage of the technology is the cost-effectiveness of the processing process; the final material is not only effective in its characteristics, but also cheap. This forces industrial enterprises to open glass and glass collection points on the territory. You can donate glass there in any volume and type. Moreover, receive a certain amount in accordance with the weight of the accepted waste.

Factories that process broken glass handle industrial volumes of cullet. Obviously, delivery of such a plan to the processor site is unlikely. That is why small companies engaged in the collection and accumulation of one or another type of secondary raw materials are beginning to actively develop for their subsequent sale to processing companies. Similar companies currently exist in most major cities, and their network is constantly expanding. Any type of glass can be delivered to the collection points of such companies - from glass containers to windows.

You can check the presence and address of the nearest company of this profile in the administration of your district - collectors and processing enterprises, mainly private firms, but a mandatory rule for them is to undergo state accreditation.

You can also contact a company that, if it does not collect household waste(for example, does not have permission for this type of activity), then in any case it must organize a contract with a third-party company. Usually once or twice a month a truck arrives at the microdistrict and accepts glass from citizens. In order to save money, many housing departments and homeowners associations approach the situation differently: they install containers for collecting waste on their own territory. You can throw glass there at any time and without restrictions.

In every room, whether residential or business, it is necessary to periodically replace windows. Like any other structures, window frames have their own service life and after its expiration they lose functionality, begin to let in sounds, dust, odors from the street, and stop retaining heat.

Disposing of old windows is not only a labor-intensive process, but also dirty. After each dismantled frame, at least 20 kilograms of waste remain. You can’t throw it into the garbage chute; it’s also inconvenient to take it out in a passenger car, especially if there is more than one frame to be replaced.

Note! The dismantled remains of window frames are considered, and they cannot be left in the same place where regular household waste is taken out. How to properly dispose of construction garbage and where to take it out so as not to get a fine, read the link above.

If you and the management company do not have an agreement on the removal of construction waste, you cannot simply leave old windows near the trash bins. You can always find out about the existence of an agreement from management company. If the management company is not engaged in the removal of construction waste, it makes sense to enter into an agreement for removal with the company that will install new ones. Sometimes this service is provided at no additional cost.

It is also possible to transport dismantled frames and garbage to a landfill on your own, but it is often impractical: in the process of dragging heavy objects, a person unaccustomed to such work can tear his back and injure himself. There is also a high chance of damaging or dirtying a personal car, and searching for a landfill and getting to it can result in a long wandering or even result in nothing if it turns out that the found landfill works only under contracts with large companies, and there is no way to just “throw” your old windows at them it is forbidden.

Features of recycling wooden windows

The environmental friendliness and ability of wood to “breathe” remains one of the most significant advantages, which is why wooden frames continue to be installed today. But low-quality wooden structures deteriorate much earlier than plastic ones.

Dirt and dust get packed into the cracks that appear in the wood, old paint comes off, glass doesn't fit tightly - all this means that it's time for the old wooden window to go to the landfill.

Wooden frames can be used for firewood for a summer house, and window glass can be used to make a greenhouse. It is important not to overlook one point: frames affected by fungus or mold are not suitable for heating residential premises or cooking over an open fire. Therefore, disposal of wooden windows with suspicious black spots should take place away from commercial and residential buildings.

Features of recycling plastic (PVC) windows

The widespread replacement of wooden frames with windows made of metal-plastic profiles began relatively recently in our country, so most plastic windows have not yet reached their “expiration date”. Due to the greater homogeneity and inertness of plastic as a material, such windows last longer than wooden ones - their service life can reach half a century. The fittings, of course, deteriorate much faster, but that’s why they are consumables.

Disposal of plastic windows may be required due to mechanical damage to the frame or redevelopment of the premises. How, then, should we deal with the old? There are several options.

"Lazy". Order the removal of garbage and old plastic windows from the company that will install new windows for you. A contract for the removal of construction waste concluded with the company will relieve you of responsibility for future fate window designs. Cons: Additional fees may apply.
"Green". It will take more effort: you need to find collection points for PVC plastic in your city. You will have to bring the windows to the delivery point at your own expense, but you will be calmer, knowing that your frames will not be dumped as dead weight at the landfill, but will be recycled.
"Fresh". It may happen that you need to replace an almost new window. Let's say they installed it a month ago, but you suddenly realized that instead of a solid frame you want a sash frame. This can be solved by calling the company that installed the window: if there is no damage, they will simply take it away, and they can even give you a discount on another one.
"Dachny". Call your gardening friends, neighbors and relatives to see if anyone needs frames and glass on their acres. They are suitable for both residential buildings, verandas and greenhouses. But you will have to dismantle it carefully - broken ones are unlikely to be used.

Video

“What about them?” How the recycling process (collection, crushing, melting) of PVC frames in Germany occurs is shown in the following video:

Window glass recycling

Broken window glass can be taken to recycling collection points. With intact ones, everything is more interesting: you can post an ad on Avito or another similar platform, where summer residents, aquarists or framers may be interested in your glass.

Note! You can find out how PVC windows are recycled in your city and where you can get rid of window glass using the recycling map created by Greenpeace: http://recyclemap.ru.

Who is responsible for the removal and disposal of old windows?

Typically, recycling companies work closely with agencies for installing windows and glazing balconies. It could be structural subdivision the company itself, or maybe a third-party organization - in any case, the first step is to request the contacts of the recyclers from the installers.

To compare prices and terms of removal, you can search online. Any company that removes construction waste also removes windows, you just need to choose the right one.

How does recycling work?

Plastic structures are either left in landfills or melted into recycled plastic using pyrolysis. Such plastic is used, for example, to make moldings for new windows, consumables, and fittings.

Wooden frames are most often burned - to generate useful energy in large landfills (for heating boilers, in the process of producing biogas, etc.), or simply destroyed by fire.

Glass can also be stored at a landfill, or it can be melted down and serve as material for new window glass, bottles and other utensils.

The easiest option for getting rid of old frames is to transfer the hassle to an installer or recycler. If conscience does not allow you to accept Active participation in cluttering the planet - recycle it, it definitely won’t hurt anyone. It’s easiest for dacha owners; windows will always come in handy there.